The Player of the month is the initiative in collaboration with ItalianOptic which Atalanta dedicates to their fans who are invited to vote for the best Atalanta player of the month through the poll on the socials accounts.
At the end of the first round of voting, the two players that have received the most likes, compete for the title of the Player of the month.
May – Ruslan Malinovskyi
Never two without three! After winning in March and April, Ruslan Malinovskyi confirms himself as Player of the Month even at the end of the last month of the season.
After the initial poll, Ruslan also won this award, which is the initiative in collaboration with ItalianOptic, by beating Remo Freuler in the final, who despite an extraordinary season and an incredible consistency of performance was unable to snatch the prize from his Ukrainian colleague.
Also in May, Malinovskyi delivered exceptional performances, being decisive in every game played. In six appearances, in fact, the number 18 contributed three assists and three goals, including the temporary equalizer in the Coppa Italia final. Mind-boggling numbers, even more so if added to those of the previous months: Ruslan scored at least one goal or provided one assist for 11 consecutive games. This testifies that he has increasingly gained a central role during the season.
Congrats, Ruslan!
April – Ruslan Malinovksyi
In the seventh edition of the initiative in collaboration with ItalianOptic, Ruslan Malinovskyi won for the second month in a row, after winning in March. This time, the Ukrainian midfielder beat Luis Muriel in the head-to-head battle for the Player of the Month for April.
Beating Malina right now would be a hard task to perform, actually. Ruslan provided five assists and scored three goals, each one is more beautiful and more important than the last one. All this was done within five matches. He scored a decisive goal in the 87th minute in the big match against Juventus, then a goal that opened the scoring against Roma at the Olimpico (the match ended in a 1-1 tie) and against Bologna at the Gewiss Stadium.
Moreover, the statistics of Malinovskyi also reports 6 key passes. All this proves the importance and the key role of the Nerazzurri number 18 in April. But we certainly have to also mention Luis Muriel, as the Colombian striker was the Serie A TIM MVP for April according to the Lega Serie A.
вітаю, Malina!
March – Ruslan Malinovksyi
In the sixth edition of the initiative in collaboration with ItalianOptic, Ruslan Malinovskyi won the award beating Berat Djimsiti in the head-to-head battle for the Player of the Month for March.
Ruslan thus becomes the fifth different Player of the Month of this season, which testifies to the fundamental role of all the players in the squad. March saw Malinovskyi triumph, as he earned the votes of our fans thanks to his strong growth throughout the month. The Ukrainian closed the month with 309 minutes played, 5 key passes – which is proof of his quality and his central role in the Nerazzurri play – and 1 goal and 1 assist, both in Verona in the last match before the international break.
We certainly have to mention also Djimsiti, as the Albanian international was a key player in all five matches of the month. He provided some performances of the highest level, as in the duel with Lukaku in the trip to San Siro against Inter.
вітаю, Malina!
The prize giving
February – Luis Muriel
In the fifth edition of the initiative in collaboration with ItalianOptic, Luis Muriel won his second award of the year, this time over Robin Gosens in the head-to-head battle for the Player of the Month for February.
Muriel gave an extraordinary performance and earned the votes of the Atalanta fans not only for scoring three goals and providing three assists in seven matches but also for his astonishing moves and phenomenal statistics. Lucho played always a decisive role when he was in action: right from the first minute, like in the 4-2 victory over Napoli, and also when he came off the bench – as the speciality of the house – like against Cagliari, when he scored the winner in the 90th minute after a divine play.
We certainly have to mention Robin Gosens, who truly deserves to be recognised for his February high-level performances and three goals.
¡Otra vez enhorabuena, Lucho!
The prize giving
January – Aleksey Miranchuk
In the fourth edition of the initiative in collaboration with ItalianOptic, Aleksey Miranchuk won over Cristian Romero in the head-to-head battle for the Player of the Month for January.
Miranchuk is the fourth winner of this contest (besides Zapata, Gosens and Muriel), which shows the decisiveness and the constant support of the whole team during all the season. Number 59 of the Nerazzurri has been on the pitch for 300′ in January. He demonstrated himself as a leader, in particular in the Coppa Italia, scoring two decisive goals in the Round of 16 and the quarter-final. The first goal was a brilliant left-foot volley which broke the deadlock against Cagliari. He scored the second one against Lazio, making it 3-2 and sealing the victory for Atalanta.
We certainly have to mention Cuti Romero, the key player of the sensational performances: one of them was that in the match at the Meazza Stadium against Milan (a goal and an assist).
поздравляю, Lesha!
The prize giving
December – Luis Muriel
After the first round of voting, the forward Luis Muriel and the goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini were the finalists of the Player of the Month by ItalianOptic for the month of December. Two finalists came out of this round who had a head-to-head battle through another poll on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram official channels. The winner is Luis Muriel while the great goalkeeper of the Nerazzurri, who pulled off some divine saves, as well as decisive ones, took second place for few votes.
In the month of December ‘Lucho’ – this is the name by which he is called by his teammates – played 6 matches for a total of 198 minutes on the pitch… during which he gave a show. He scored two goals after coming off the bench, one of them was scored during the decider at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam against Ajax, earning in this way the win and the qualification for the Champions League last 16.
Muriel is the third different winner of this contest after Zapata and Gosens. He then scored his seventh double in the Nerazzurri shirt in the 2-2 draw at the Dall’Ara against Bologna.
¡Enhorabuena, Lucho!
The prize giving
November – Robin Gosens
Cuti Romero and Robin Gosens were the finalists of the Player of the Month by ItalianOptic for the month of November. The contest between the two was very balanced and the German wing-back won, but an honourable mention is also for Cuti, who in his first year with the Nerazzurri is already becoming an idol of the fans.
Despite only two games played out of five due to a couple of injuries that forced him out earlier this month and during the Atalanta-Verona match, Gosens still managed to leave an important mark both on the pitch and in the heart of the Atalanta fans.
After an excellent performance coming back from an injury against Spezia, a game in which Robin had also scored, but his goal was then disallowed after a VAR review due to Zapata being offside, the German was also decisive in the feat at Anfield. His goal doubled the lead of the Nerazzurri and sealed the 0-2 win which will remain in the annals of the Atalanta history.
Glückwünsche, Robin!
The prize giving
September/October – Duván Zapata
The midfielder Remo Freuler and the forward Duván Zapata were the first two finalists of the Player of the Month by ItalianOptic for September and October. The final, which saw a lot of votes on the official social accounts of the Club, was won by the Colombian.
An absolutely deserved award for our number 91, who was one of the protagonists of the first two months of the season. Duván took part in all the eight games played by the Nerazzurri team for a total of 537 minutes and he also scored 5 goals (3 in the Champions League and 2 in Serie A) and provided 4 assists (equally divided between the UCL and the league).
¡Enhorabuena, Duván!
